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A Hobbled Star Battles the NFL

Doctors say football left Victor Washington
'totally disabled.' Two decades later,
the league still disagrees.

By

Ellen E. Schultz Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Dec. 3, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

Football propelled Victor Washington from an orphanage in Elizabeth, N.J., to the National Football League. He starred as a rookie and was selected for the Pro Bowl after the 1971-72 season. But few teams he faced gave him more trouble than the NFL itself, after his playing days.

Seven years after injuries ended his career, Mr. Washington applied for NFL disability benefits. He had racked up injuries to a knee and shoulder (in 1973),...